Is the Worst Over for the IT Job Market?

You may be excused for your cynical chortling when hearing that IT hiring may
be on the way up, but thats what the latest study from a technology staffing
company reports.

The international company Robert Half Technology just released the results
of a survey that found that 10 percent of the 1,400 CIOs questioned anticipate
increasing their IT staffs in the third quarter of this year, while only 3 percent
project layoffs.

The news was even better for MCPs. Windows administration was the most in-demand
skill among the CIOs by a huge margin. Eighty percent listed Windows expertise
as the skill they most value, followed by Cisco administration at 38 percent,
Visual Basic development at 29 percent, and Check Point firewall administration
at 28 percent.

The obvious question: Can those statistics be accurate, given the wide-ranging
perception that the IT job market remains woeful? Yes, said Robert Half Regional
Manager Catherine Paredi. The layoffs are well-publicized, and yes, they
are going on. But... hiring is going on on a strategic basis, in order for companies
to maintain their systems and market share and to sustain themselves.

Paredi believes that signals are there to indicate a possible turnaround, but
they havent been as well publicized. The evidence is there, she said,
in the hiring indexes, and even more importantly, the figures from the
analysts and anecdotal evidence from our clients across the country.

Turning to the impact of certification on a job-seekers hunt, Paredi
said experience remains the key, but certification can play a role. Actual
work experience, at this point in time, is taking precedence over whether or
not someone is certified. If it comes down to a short list of two people, and
their qualifications are similar, perhaps a company might lean toward the certified
individual.

Could the numbers show simply a momentary boost? Not likely, said Paredi. Im
not seeing it as a fluke at all. Across the country, we are starting to see
a trendIm not saying a jumptoward growth. What Im seeing
[from companies] is definite need, definite buying signals.